Zach McAllister

McAllister has enjoyed a good deal of success since transitioning to a relief role a few years ago, but he remains confined to the middle innings due to the high volume of quality arms in the Cleveland bullpen. The right-hander racked up just two holds in 50 appearances last season despite a 9.6 K/9 and stellar ratios, as Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, Joe Smith, Tyler Olson and Nick Goody were more trusted pieces in the bridge to closer Cody Allen. While the peripherals suggest McAllister did overachieve last season -- he had an 89.3 percent left-on-base rate and allowed home runs at a greater rate as his opponents' hard-contact rate jumped to 39.1 percent -- he'd probably be a top setup option in weaker bullpens. Shaw and Smith are gone, so perhaps this is the year McAllister sees more high-leverage work, but he has no real shot at save chances on this team.

After landing on the 15-day DL in early July, McAllister turned his season around with an impressive post All-Star break performance. The reliever dropped his pre All-Star break ERA from 5.40 down to 1.40 after the break, helping the Indians reach the playoffs for the first time since he joined the Tribe six years ago. However, this improvement came simultaneous with the Indians' acquisition of reliever Andrew Miller, who effectively pushed McAllister into lower-leverage situations. The 28-year-old reliever ended up posting a modest 3.44 ERA to go along with a 1.45 WHIP and 9.3 K/9, similar to the numbers he put up the year before with the Indians. McAllister has proven to be a reliable backend reliever over the past couple seasons, however, it is unclear if he will retain that position in the talented Cleveland bullpen in 2017.

McAllister opened the season as a member of the starting rotation after locking down one of the two open spots in the Cleveland rotation on the heels of a strong spring, but the veteran was quickly transitioned to a relief in favor of Danny Salazar after making his lone start of the season. The Indians never turned back to McAllister despite a couple of injury-related vacancies in their rotation at various points in the season and it appears the team views him as filling a relief role going forward. McAllister pitched two innings or more in just five of his 60 relief appearances as the Indians seem content letting him face just a handful of batters per appearance. He was effective in a relief role (2.49 ERA, 3.0 BB/9, 11.0 K/9 in 69 innings) so he should get plenty of high-leverage opportunities this season, and could be in the mix for saves if anything happens to Cody Allen.

Consistency has eluded McAllister throughout his career despite a relatively solid skillset at the foundation. He has a 2.5 K:BB ratio for his career, but hasn’t been able to turn it into steady results. His fastball velocity jumped two ticks to a career-best 94 mph average, which helped him regain his strikeout losses from 2013, but he remains too hittable and especially so with runners on base. As he piles up more work, it is harder to suggest he has simply been unlucky with the .313 BABIP and 66 percent LOB rates for his career, but all of his ERA indicators are well below the 5.23 ERA he was saddled with in 2014. Part of the higher BABIP is a poor Cleveland defense and that extends to the LOB, but two seasons of sub-65 percent LOB rates suggest he is definitely part of the problem, too. There is some intrigue here, but nothing you need to pay for at the draft table. For one, he doesn’t have a rotation spot locked down just yet, but also because his history won’t have many betting on a surge in performance.

McAllister missed time last season with a finger injury, but was fairly effective in 24 starts when healthy. He doesn't have great control (3.3 BB/9) or miss a ton of bats (6.8 K/9) which figures to keep him from taking much of a step forward as a 26-year-old. Further, McAllister has experienced a declining amount of success getting opposing hitters to chase his offerings outside the strike zone, which led to a modest 7.1% swinging-strike rate in 2013. Without a standout offering in his arsenal, McAllister will likely serve as a back-end starter for the Indians in 2014 with a very limited ceiling as he moves ahead in his career.

McAllister had moderate success after joining the Indians rotation for good in late June, but had some ugly efforts late in the season that tainted his overall numbers. His strikeout rate took an uptick after joining the Indians and he'll need to hold onto those gains if he is going to have prolonged success. The Indians are counting on him to make the starting rotation out of spring training, so he'll have to pitch himself off the roster in March unless they're able to upgrade their starting rotation drastically over the winter.

McAllister made a few spot starts for the Indians, but spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A Columbus, going 12-3 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.203 WHIP and a 128:31 K:BB ratio in 25 starts. In addition to increasing his strikeout rate at Triple-A (7.47 K/9IP), McAllister's walk rate (1.81 BB/9IP) was the lowest he's turned in since making the leap to Double-A with the Yankees in 2009. Just 24, he'll be among the candidates considered for the Cleveland rotation if injuries create an opportunity at some point this season.

The 22-year-old McAllister continued his rapid rise through the Yankees’ system last season, leading the Eastern League with a 2.23 ERA in 22 Double-A starts. Despite a lack of dominating stuff, McAllister has good control of his sinking fastball (2.9 K/BB ratio) and keeps the ball in the park by inducing plenty of ground balls (just four homers allowed). He needs more time in the minors to develop his secondary pitches – curveball, slider, changeup – but projects as a mid-rotation grinder in the bigs, possibly as soon as 2011.

McAllister displayed excellent command between Low-A Charleston and High-A Tampa last season, vaulting his way up the team's organizational ranks. While he's not overpowering, McAllister commands his four-pitch arsenal -- low-90s fastball, curveball, slider and changeup -- very well (1.25 BB/9IP) and generates a healthy number of strikeouts. He could begin Double-A as a 21-year-old in 2009, but given the way the Yankees are rebuilding their rotation through free agency, he may end up as a valuable trade chip if his development continues to progress this well.